Craftsman Table Saw

[Bob Yarbrough]

Any real time / use reviews of the Craftsman "Hybrid" saw that has all the bells & whistles? :confused:

[Roy Wall]

In FWW this month - good review on the new Sears Cabinet saw with Beis fence....


I think they like it! Priced around $950..

[Jeff Sudmeier]

A friend's uncle at work just got one and loves it. He traded "up" from a delta contractors saw. He has the cabinet saw with the bies fence. Says it was very easy to set up and with the bies fence it rips perfectly.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I have a friend who loves his. I've actually seen it and I was imporessed with the quality of the saw.

[scott spencer]

I have a friend who loves his. I've actually seen it and I was impressed with the quality of the saw. ...ditto that! :)

[Jim Knauss]

Ive had one since Feburary and am very happy with the saw. I wanted to stay with a 110 v. saw and it seems to have all the power I need. Im sure there are better saws out there but not in this price range when its on sale.

Jim Knauss

[Tom Pritchard]

Bob, I've had this saw (Craftsman 22124) for just over a month, and I am completely satisfied with it! The saw was easy to set up, accurate, has more than enough power to rip 2" thick rock maple, and has many extra features that make it a great saw for the money. Go and look at one that is properly set up (sometimes the Sears employees do not do a good job of setting up their floor model) and see how you like it. Better yet, find someone who has one and will let you try it. I'm betting that this saw is going to fill a nice niche for us WW'ers who want a saw with great features and can't afford huge bucks for one. Happy shopping Bob!

[Mike Deschler]

Bob:

I've had my 22124 for several months now and really love it. I previously had a Delta 36-444 contractors saw which also served me well but could not pass up the deal on the 22124. If you time the purchase correctly, you can work the following deal. Wait for a Craftsman club sale and get 10% of the normal price of $949 which gets you to approx $854. Also get a Craftsman club 10% coupon by signing up on their web site, now you are down to $768. When I bought mine and upacked it at home it had some minor blemishes around the lower base. I called Orion for some touch up paint which they did not have at the time so they sent me 3 new blades including another Leitz blade for my trouble. I then asked the Sears manager to replace the base on the unit. He offered another 15% off for my problems which brought my cost down to $652 which included a $100 promotion of extra blades and dados. I sold the Delta for $525 so my total out of pocket cost was $127. BTW, my mobile base covers the blemishes on the base that I mentioned.

Needless to say the saw is great and with the OEM Leitz blade and Beismeyer fence, it is a fantastic combination. It does everything I want it to do.

BTW, Delta and Orion (a Delta spin-off) are now sister divsions under B&D so the designs and support have a lot of experience behind them.

Very seldom do I walk into any real deals but this time I was just plain lucky and really appreciate it.

[Mike Vermeil]

Just to play devils advocate...if the normal price of the saw is in the $900's, why not just pay the extra three or four hundred to get the full-blown Unisaw? I see sale prices for Unisaws all the time in the $1,300 range. The Craftsman saw may turn out to be a great unit, but at this point it's durability and longevity are unknown. With the Unisaw, you know exactly what you're getting.

[John A. Williams]

I have a friend who bought one and he really likes it. He also got it for around $850.00.

John

[Mike Deschler]

Just to play devils advocate...if the normal price of the saw is in the $900's, why not just pay the extra three or four hundred to get the full-blown Unisaw? I see sale prices for Unisaws all the time in the $1,300 range. The Craftsman saw may turn out to be a great unit, but at this point it's durability and longevity are unknown. With the Unisaw, you know exactly what you're getting.

Mike:

The over riding reason as to why I even started looking at the CM saw was the 110v power limitation in my shop. A rewire cost to 220v would have been prohibitive. I also made the decision basd on my research about Orion, the producer of the CM saw.

Additionally few people understand the heritage of Orion, the saw's producer. When Delta decided to move from Pittsburg to Jackson Tn a few years ago, some key marketing and design people decided to stay in Pittsburg and formed Orion with the intention to private label their designs. Orion maintained strong ties to Delta over the years and when Pentair acquired Delta they also invested partially in Orion. Recently Pentair sold their tool group which by now included PC, Devilbiss, Delta and part of Orion and others to B&D and is now out of the tool business and is concentrating of its clean water business. Bottom line is that I have a great piece of equipment which is heavily influenced by Delta design and the question about durability and longevity is a non issue in my mind. If in doubt one could always purchase a Sears service contract for 5 years which would be far greater than Delta's warranty.

Lastly, word has it that Delta may be dropping its low end uni's because of cost and concentrating on X-5's for $1800-1900 and hybrids which would be priced closer to the Orion/CM saw.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Mike,

Just a case of comparing a sale price to a full price. You can do your homework and get a unisaw in the $1300 range. You can also do your homework and get the Cman saw for $750 or maybe even less. So comparing apples to apples, there is a $550 difference, to add $550 to a $750 purchase is a LOT of money for someone who has been saving for a saw.

[scott spencer]

Mike,
Just a case of comparing a sale price to a full price. You can do your homework and get a unisaw in the $1300 range. You can also do your homework and get the Cman saw for $750 or maybe even less. So comparing apples to apples, there is a $550 difference, to add $550 to a $750 purchase is a LOT of money for someone who has been saving for a saw.

Mike - In addition to the points Jeff brings up about the "street price" of the 22124 vs the suggested retail, I'd also raise the question as to whether or not the Uni is really as well proven as some would think. The design is pretty much the same, but from what I understand the cast iron is now sourced from China, and the motor comes from Brazil, and it's only assembled in the States. Those are significant components of the Uni that don't have much of a track record yet.

I'm in no way trying to compare a Uni to a 22124, and I agree that at $950 the 22124 has less appeal than at a good sale price, but this ever changing manufacturing environment forces us to do more research than ever before for major purchases. I'd propose that the Uni and the 22124 have different markets and different price points that suit different needs very well. It's kind of like a Corvette/Camaro comparison....yeah, one has greater performance capacity but there's a 75% additional charge for what some view as the same task.

[Mike Vermeil]

Mike:

The over riding reason as to why I even started looking at the CM saw was the 110v power limitation in my shop. A rewire cost to 220v would have been prohibitive. I also made the decision basd on my research about Orion, the producer of the CM saw.



Mike,

I didn't think about the voltage issue. Based upon what I've seen of it and what others have said, I'm sure you've got a great product there. Like I said, I was just playing the devil's advocate. Have fun.

Mike

[Tom Hood]

I bought the 22124 in January for a little less than $700 using the stacked coupons/discounts described above. I wired mine for 220V and have been very happy with its performance. I did have to align the table top out of the box, but the location of the bolts made that easy and the saw had performed flawlessly since. The money I saved over the General I coveted funded a couple other tools.

Tom

[Jeff Pilcher]

I just got the latest C'Man Club sale flyer today and the 22124 is $799.99 starting the 23rd of April.

The sale price plus the 10% off coupon I got for signing up for the email makes this an easy choice. I've just been waiting for the next sale to start so I could pull the trigger on this purchase.

I will be upgrading from a Shopsmith which has served me well for over 20 years, but it's time to move up to a better tablesaw (I will be keeping the Shopsmith).

[Mike Deschler]

Jeff:


It's real hard to say no to that deal, go for it, you will like the results and be pleased with your purchase. Let us know how you like it. BTW, I hope you have a way to get rid of the steel frame they ship the saw in. I cut mine up with a sawzall and put them in the local recycle hopper.

Enjoy

[Rick Thom]

I have the delta equiv (since 2003-11) and it has worked fine so far. At @ $900 Cdn I thought it was a bargin but you have what I consider better fence (bies vs delta) and extension table I think. Used it quite a bit.. accurate, trouble free, sufficient power etc. :)

[Tony Falotico]

I just got the latest C'Man Club sale flyer today and the 22124 is $799.99 starting the 23rd of April.

Don't tease me Jeff! Took my 25 yr old C'man apart last night, been running pretty rough lately, most the bearings are pretty worn and it has a lot of slop and play in it. I'm looking at about $200 - $225 in parts, plus tax & shipping to bring it back to good shape.

Looked at the C'man Cab saw yesterday........ Based on what's been said above and at $799 this weekend I'll have to reconsider.

[Jeff Pilcher]

Don't tease me Jeff! Took my 25 yr old C'man apart last night, been running pretty rough lately, most the bearings are pretty worn and it has a lot of slop and play in it. I'm looking at about $200 - $225 in parts, plus tax & shipping to bring it back to good shape.

Looked at the C'man Cab saw yesterday........ Based on what's been said above and at $799 this weekend I'll have to reconsider.

Tony, I've been looking at this saw for weeks now and reading everything I can find. Popular opinion on this saw is good to very good. I was waiting for this sale (although, I didn't expect it until later in the summer).

At $799 it is a very good deal. But, I hope to make it an even better deal. I have the 10% coupon from the C'man web site (which my local Sears guy says they will honor). But, whenever I purchase furniture, appliances, etc., I always ask if the store will further reduce the price if I pay cash (as opposed to using a credit card). I have gotten an additional 10% off on some purchases in the past from many different stores.

I mentioned my 20+ year old Shopsmith. I think it is widely accepted that the tablesaw function of the Shopsmith is a weak link. They offer a couple upgrades that greatly improve the tablesaw, but these upgrades are more expensive than the new C'man saws (and still do not result in a saw that is as good as a dedicated saw). I'm justifying this purchase to myself (and the LOML) with the understanding that I will be getting a much better piece of equipment for approx. half the price of the Shopsmith upgrade.

[Jeff Pilcher]

It's real hard to say no to that deal, go for it, you will like the results and be pleased with your purchase. Let us know how you like it. BTW, I hope you have a way to get rid of the steel frame they ship the saw in. I cut mine up with a sawzall and put them in the local recycle hopper.

Enjoy

Thanks for the confirmation on the purchase Mike. I plan to take lots of pictures of the unveiling, assembly, and setup, so stay tuned.

I will probably cut up and keep the shipping frame to use on non wood projects around the house. BTW, what material do they use for the shipping crate?

[Mike Deschler]

Thanks for the confirmation on the purchase Mike. I plan to take lots of pictures of the unveiling, assembly, and setup, so stay tuned.

I will probably cut up and keep the shipping frame to use on non wood projects around the house. BTW, what material do they use for the shipping crate?

Here is where they cut corners Jeff, they use a cardboard box with straps. The steel shipping frame is the key to keeping the unit from receiving damage. Its quite clever how they do it. The steel tubing is not very good, it looked like seconds but what the heck, it was meant to be a one time use anyway and it did what it was intended to do.

Mike

[david hines]

Hi all i just purchased the 22124 this morning. 700.00 tax included using C club and internet coupon and it's in the back of my pickup. i can hardly wait to get it together. Is there an easy way to get it to the ground? sorry no pix dont have a digital camera.by the way does this quailify as a gloat ? iwll update if i have any problems. any one local to laplata md that has one and can give hints on putting it together? i feel like a little kid on christmas morning lol . Got to go time to clean up the garage/shop

[Todd Davidson]

Seems I too came home with a 22124 today. Sears in CT is having a one day sale on the saw for $759. Got $100 off of that using my Craftsman Club card and then $66 off with the 10% coupon bringing my total before tax to $593. LOML bought me a digital camera for my b'day on the 19th so as soon as I can figure it out I'll post pictures. Will be putting a Delta contractors saw up for sale if anyone is interested.

[scott spencer]

Seems I too came home with a 22124 today. Sears in CT is having a one day sale on the saw for $759. Got $100 off of that using my Craftsman Club card and then $66 off with the 10% coupon bringing my total before tax to $593. LOML bought me a digital camera for my b'day on the 19th so as soon as I can figure it out I'll post pictures. Will be putting a Delta contractors saw up for sale if anyone is interested. I got the exact same deal Todd....I had no serious intention of buying that saw today, but when he offered the $100 off the sale price in addition to my 10% off coupon, I couldn't pass it up....$593.99 w/free delivery plus tax.

My wife won't be home until tomorrow though.....I'm dead. :(

[Todd Davidson]

Hi Scott~

I went to Sears to look at Rototillers and came home with a saw.:) Just couldn't pass on the price. Mine will be sitting in the garage until I get my basement/shop floor poured so kindly advise me of any problems you have with assembly so I can pass those steps off on Kim.:D Seriously though, when I get around to assembling mine do you mind if I PM you with any questions?

[scott spencer]

...Seriously though, when I get around to assembling mine do you mind if I PM you with any questions? I only mind if I can't answer them! :D

[Jeff Pilcher]

I picked mine up this morning, too. Here is a quick picture of the final assembly. I will post more pictures later tonight.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nice tool Jeff. I'm sure it'll serve you well! Congrats!

[Jeff Pilcher]

I documented my new saw setup in another thread.

Click here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19489)